PGS testing question...help needed!!

taddesse · December 2016

Hi Ladies!!

I am debating with my husband whether or not we should PGS test our 5 blast embryos. My husband doesn't think it is a necessary expense and the doctor doesn't encourage it either. I think it would be beneficial in implantation. Out of curiosity of the blastocyst you've retrieved, what number was normal after testing? Thanks for your help'

sberries · December 2016

I think it is very beneficial. My first egg retrieval we had 9 embryos tested and 4 came back normal after PGD testing. The second egg retrieval we had 17 embryos tested and 11 came back normal. To me the expense is worth it...PGD testing is cheaper than multiple transfers. There is also the peace of mind if you do get pregnant that the baby has all the right chromosomes. My office believes in it so strongly that PGD testing is part of their IVF package. They tested the first 6 and then we paid for the rest. Just my two cents!

liljoy-2 · December 2016

I was so set on PGSing when I do my next IVF but I'm starting to reconsider. If you have lots of embryos it does make sense, if not, freezing, thawing, biopsy and then refreezing and thawing again for implantation is a lot of trauma and some will be lost. Unless they take the cells for biopsy when fresh before freezing the first time I don't think I want to do it.

taddesse · December 2016

Thanks guys! I agree the benefits are huge. Problem now is that they are already frozen, and I fear thawing them then refreezing them. I don't want to lose the few I have.

LeFemmeViolette · December 2016

Our RE recommended it as a precaution. Usually it's recommended for those like 34 and over.
But we decided to go through with it for the very reasons you're describing. And I'm glad we did. We wound up with 4 blasts from round one and only 1 tested normal.

This second round we again had 4 blasts and 3 tested normal.

I'm definitely a proponent of PGS testing.

oxinfree · December 2016

I would highly suggest you not unfreeze to biopsy. At this point you'd be better off shooting in the dark than potentially damaging good normal embryos.

mtpbadger · December 2016

I agree with @oxinfree. Also, I believe that in order to PGS test, you needed to have ICSI done, as with normally fertilized embryos sometimes there can be other fragments of other sperm that the testing then picks up as abnormal (someone please correct me if I am wrong).

From the research I have done, PGS testing doesn't impact the implantation rate as that is usually an issue with the uterus/lining. PGS only decreases the chance of having a miscarriage.

tiffanyw1783 · December 2016

I also agree with @oxinfree. And so does my RE. My RE only recommends it if the woman is over 40 or has had multiple previous miscarriages, or other problems, etc. He told me that my only problem is mechanical so there wasn't much sense in traumatizing the embryos. My first in vitro we only had 2 embryos so we didn't want to chance losing them. I thought about it with this cycle but didn't want to chance freezing-thawing-biopsying-refreezing-rethawing-transferring! Too many ifs involved.

liljoy-2 · December 2016

I also agree, no PGS if it means refreezing. But I wonder why isn't standard practice to biopsy before freezing the embryos the first time? Even if I produce only one embryo, I'd want it to be PGSed before freeze. What do you think?

cakeforbreakfast · December 2016

I've read conflicting studies on PGS. My heart strings say anything to help, but my brain says the long term science isn't settled on a definitive answer and it's a lot of money. However, I would do PGD if I had a potential risk of transferring Huntington's or something else that could be an impairment on offspring.

caseyw8784 · December 2016

@mtpbadger - you're exactly correct about the sperm fragments...

I know 100% that ICSI is needed for PGD; not sure if it's also needed for PGS. We have to do PGD, which has both a time and money cost, but if we didn't we would still ask for PGS, which would assure us that there are the right number of chromosomes, etc. I know most insurances don't cover either, so I think that's why doctors only recommend it when age or history comes into play.

RE: re-freezing, my RE told me that "they can't" thaw and refreeze to biopsy, when i asked if we could go ahead and do the ivf cycle before the PGD test kit was complete...(we have to wait. it sucks.)

wifeinraleigh28 · December 2016

@mtpbadger is right, PGS testing doesn't increase implantation rates, but it does significantly decrease miscarriage rates, and that alone is a huge reason to do it in my book. I've been around these boards a long time now and I've witnessed so many ladies go through heartbreaking miscarriages, but never with a PGS normal embryo. Some embryos with abnormal chromosomes will survive until you're a couple months pregnant and then stop growing, which is just horrible. Others will result in chemical pregnancies. Very few result in live births.

I'm not too familiar with the risks involved with thawing, doing the biopsies, then refreezing, but I personally would rather risk that than risking a miscarriage. But that's just my $0.02!

cakeforbreakfast · December 2016

cakeforbreakfast · December 2016

I thought I would share some article previews on recent research into PGS that highlight what fertility scientists are discovering now.

wifeinraleigh28 · December 2016

@cakeforbreakfast Am I reading correctly that this research is from 2005-2012? I'm wondering if there are more recent findings than that, and would also be interested in reading other research as well. Based on the descriptions outlined I think I had PGS #2, but can't be certain.

cakeforbreakfast · December 2016

It looks a bit funny, it's in the past 5 years, since 2012

. Most of us are looking at version two of PGS, a day five transfer which has been shown inconclusive in recent reviews of studies that justifies the practice. PGS version but one is the day three transfer that further studies definitely showed was bad.

LizzyLA · December 2016

From what I understand, genetic testing (PGS or PGD) is beneficial for some - for those who have a history of miscarriage, women of advance maternal age (35+), and carriers of genetic disorders (PGD). I'm 39 and my RE highly recommended we do PGS because of my age (my old eggs

) . I'm glad we did. 1/5 embryos tested normal and the one that tested normal was our lowest quality/graded embryo. If we had decided not to do PGS and implanted based on the best quality or best looking embryo, we likely would miscarry. Our highest graded embryo had multiple genetic abnormalities. The one embryo that tested normal was a day 6 blastocyst and graded "fair". For us, the big question is the success rates on embryos that test genetically normal but were slow to reach blastocyst or aren't "pretty".

liljoy-2 · December 2016

@LizzyLA Did you do the PGS biopsy before freezing them the first time? I'm doing a mini IVF and fear I will only have one or 2 blastocysts if lucky, and I'm hoping they will be still willing to PGS before freezing, even if not "cost effective for the lab"

bells52000 · December 2016

I have had two chemical pregnancies with pgs normal embryos. PGS is not a magic answer but I do think it is smart if you are older or if you are younger and get a heap of eggs and can therefore narrow down to the pick of the litter. I don't think I would thaw to test, but consider it if you ever have to stim again.

Oh...to add the answer to your question...I had 6 blasts, 3 normal, 1 inconclusive tested.

LizzyLA · December 2016

@bestofjoy Sorry for the delay... We had to freeze the embryos first because not all of our embryos reached blast on day 5 so we froze and waited for the others to catch up. With a good lab, I hear you don't have to worry too much about freezing and thawing embryos.

KLake42 · December 2016

My doctor strongly recommends it, and we'll be testing any that are going to be frozen. I don't know that we'll get enough to freeze, though, given our age (using my wife's eggs, and she's 38).

edited to add-- obviously, age is a major factor in our doctor recommending it. Something like 60% of the eggs we retrieve are expected to be genetically abnormal.

junelaguirre · December 2016

PGS testing is great. We had 5 fertilized eggs that made it and got it tested....only one was normal. So...I feel the $4950 was worth it to not have to go through a miscarriage...(assuming this is a sticky embryo).

The numbers are hard to swallow but this process is pretty tough on our bodies too...

Zoey1019 · December 2016

I don't have much experience and am not familiar with studies, BUT we just did PGS on our three embryos and #1 had trisomy 5 which would have miscarried before 8 weeks, #3 had all 46 chromosomes but it had an abrnomal chromosome 2 which would have resulted in a severe congenital defect, and #2 came back as XXX which is actually quite a viable chromosomal issue. There are a lot of studies on it and what the issues are that come with it. So as happy as I am to know about the two that wouldnt have made it, it does raise some issues with those in between ones, that would survive but may have problems. It has been a mixed experience for me, I am glad we avoided the miscarriages, but now am torn with the Triple X embryo. We will be keeping it, but aren't sure where we stand. This doesn't really answer your question, but I wanted to share my experience!

Kayla.J · December 2016

This may be a silly question, but I am debating on the PGS testing my self. I am 28 and DH is 27. This is our first round of IVF, will be starting stim meds soon. I have never been pregnant/miscarried. We had the genetic lab draws done and I am not a carrier of any of the defects that was listed.

My question is what is the difference in the PGS testing versus the blood draw looking at genetic abnormalities I may carry? Does the blood draw rule out me having a child with a congenital defect? If I am correct in my thinking, the lab test just checks genetic abnormalities I may pass on to my child but the PGS looks for any chromosomal abnormalities that may have developed?

caseyw8784 · December 2016

Kayla.J said:

This may be a silly question, but I am debating on the PGS testing my self. I am 28 and DH is 27. This is our first round of IVF, will be starting stim meds soon. I have never been pregnant/miscarried. We had the genetic lab draws done and I am not a carrier of any of the defects that was listed.
My question is what is the difference in the PGS testing versus the blood draw looking at genetic abnormalities I may carry? Does the blood draw rule out me having a child with a congenital defect? If I am correct in my thinking, the lab test just checks genetic abnormalities I may pass on to my child but the PGS looks for any chromosomal abnormalities that may have developed?

Basically. The lab tests for genetic issues that you might pass down to a child. PGS just makes sure that there are the right number of chromosomes (any trisomies, etc, like down syndrome.) What PGS cannot do, is tell if there is any mutation or deletion in the actual chromosome. You would need to do PGD testing for that, and usually the labs would only look for a specific issue, not a "general sweeping" - too expensive.

Example: in my case, i am a carrier for Fragile X syndrome. We are doing IVF to be able to test the embryos for the FMR1 mutation on the X chromosome. Because the PGD test was made specifically for this, it cannot also look for other conditions like Huntington's Disease, cystic fibrosis, etc. PGS will be automatically done because even if an embryo is Fragile X free, if there are chromosomal abnormalties, the chances are higher that it will not stick once transferred back.

With your ages, you probably don't need PGS testing, and your RE probably won't try to convince you to do it. However, if your insurance is covering it, I would say go for it, especially for peace of mind...

Hope this helped

Kayla.J · December 2016

Thank you Casey!

Want a personalized experience?

PGS testing question...help needed!!

Re: PGS testing question...help needed!!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards